Fishing, or the practice of catching fish and other aquatic or marine life, is an ancient activity and can be performed recreationally, for sport or commercially. Oftentimes, in order to lure or bait the fish or other marine life, fishermen may use chumming tactics, which can include throwing or tossing chum overboard the boat and into the surrounding body of water. The chum can include whole or chopped up bait or other products, including fish, fish parts, scrap meat, flesh, bone, blood, etc. that can entice or lure marine life near the boat or watercraft. Chum can often be purchased, obtained or prepared prior to embarking on a fishing excursion, although sometimes chum can be prepared on site, during the fishing excursion, for example, using pre-purchased fish or fish that has been caught. Chum can oftentimes be purchased or packaged in a block, for example, a frozen block, which can either be chopped up and tossed into the surrounding water, or tossed into the surrounding water whole. Some devices, such as burlap or meshed bags may be used, which allow the fisherman to fill the bag(s) with the chum and hang or suspend the bag from the side of the boat and into the water.
One problem with these chumming techniques is that it is difficult to control the rate at which the chum is released into the water. For example, when a burlap or mesh bag is used to hold the chum, e.g., a frozen, thawed or fresh amount of chum, the water will rather quickly release the chum through the openings in the bag. If the chumming technique fails, or if the fisherman wants to lure more fish, another block of chum would have to be used.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a chum dispenser that can be used to receive an amount of chum, for example, a frozen, thawed or fresh block or amount of chum, and which can be used to selectively control the rate at which the chum is released into the surrounding body of water. The proposed chum dispenser would include a main receptacle defining an interior portion that can receive the chum or chum block. An inlet line will direct a flow of water into the interior portion to mix with the chum, and an outlet line will direct a flow of the chum-fluid mixture into the surrounding body of water. One or more fluid control assemblies, e.g., control valves, can be included on the inlet and/or outlet lines to control the rate at which the fluid flows into the receptacle and the rate at which the fluid-chum mixture flows out.